Arts, Briefly; Record-Breaking Chess

By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN; Compiled by Lawrence Van Gelder

Published: August 4, 2005

Susan Polgar, below, a chess grandmaster who is the No. 2-ranked female player in the world, set a new record Monday for playing games simultaneously. She also set a record for playing the most games consecutively. Starting at 10:30 a.m., Ms. Polgar played 326 games at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. She won 309, tied 14 and lost 3. Many of her opponents played her more than once, and by the time the exhibition ended at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Ms. Polgar had played 1,131 consecutive games against 551 opponents, winning 1,112, tying 16 and losing 3. The previous record for simultaneous games was 321, set last year by Andrew Martin, a British international master. The previous record for consecutive games played was 1,102 by Anna-Maria Botsari, a grandmaster from Greece. She set her record last year. DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN